Season 1:

About

After months of planning and taping, Chris and Soren are ready to debut the Inspired Insights Podcast. Listen in as they debrief and summarize their experience of filming the first season of Inspired Insights while practicing vulnerability, courageously sharing their stories, and outlining their hopes for the impact of the Inspired Insights Podcast.

Transcript

Chris: My name is Chris McLaughlin.

Soren: My name is Soren Peterson.

Chris: And we are here to talk about our brand new podcast, The Inspired Insights podcast. Soren, this has been a labor of love. It’s something we talked about for a long time before we actually got into the podcast studio, before the podcast studio was even built.

Soren: Yeah, and we got down here and we did 10 episodes for our first season.

Chris: So for folks that are interested in checking out this podcast, in episode one they’re going to learn a little bit about who we are as people and the experiences that we bring to our conversations.

Soren: Yeah, they’re also going to journey with us through topics like education and travel, and they’re going to hear a lot about my very personal story about mental health and wellness.

Chris: Yes, you shed a lot about your personal life experience in many of the episodes. In some episodes, like episode seven where we’re comparing patient and provider experience, and in the first episode, you did get into a good amount of detail with your experience with mental health.

Soren: What was that like for you to share your story?

Chris: I felt very freed by being able to have a very candid conversation about my journey. I remember after recording episode seven and episode one, I was exhilarated and felt a loft, like I was flying high. It was very freeing for me.

Soren: That brings me so much joy to hear you say that, and I’m also not surprised to hear you say that because what you’re describing is part of the reason we wanted to do this podcast. We wanted to do the Inspired Insights podcast because we wanted to bring our perspectives as an adult gay man and you as a queer youth. We wanted to bring these perspectives together in hopes of reducing stigma, making it okay to talk about things that in the past folks might have felt were taboo or even unmentionable.

Chris: Yes, and we wanted to hopefully inspire folks to realize that we are all human, we’re all evolving, our best days are ahead, and as works in progress, we have so much learning to still do as well as maybe teaching that we can offer others along the way.

Soren: Well, that’s something that I always am fearful of—am I making the best statements that I could? Am I qualified to be making broad sweeping statements like this? And that’s what I like about this podcast because we make it very clear that we’re operating from our own personal experience. This is a very personal, intimate podcast, and I think that a lot of the episodes highlight that and the imperfections of the early episodes progressing into higher quality.

Chris: I think as folks join us on this adventure—and it’s been an adventure—what they see in episodes one, two, three, and four is going to look very different from what they see in maybe the second half of the season. We’re a work in progress, and this podcast has been an evolution as well. What’s been your favorite conversation we’ve had so far?

Soren: A few weeks ago we talked about defining self, and I put a lot of mental effort into thinking about that. That’s a really exciting conversation for me to have. It’s very difficult, but I think the patient-provider relationship allowed me to let a lot of stuff off my chest.

Chris: Those were your two very most personal episodes, I think—the patient-provider kind, the perspectives of our lived experience as somebody who’s been a provider and you as somebody who has been a patient, and then that use of self driven by where you are in your journey and your life right now. I think my favorite has been talking about stigma and responding to criticism, and maybe that’s just reflective of where I am in my human journey as well.

Soren: I want to just say that this experience over the last 10 weeks has been really meaningful for me to spend this time with you. It’s been therapeutic for me to share some of my stories with you as well, and I’m just excited to put this out and have our listeners react. Right, wrong, or indifferent, reactions are going to come, and we welcome the constructive feedback.

Chris: Yes, and I am so hopeful that folks of all ages—your age, my age, and beyond and in between—can find nuggets over these next 10 episodes to maybe just make things a little brighter for them.

Soren: I am so hopeful and excited that I’m finally doing something that has the possibility to help people in a tangible way, and I hope that some of the things that I’ve said resonate with people.

Chris: I’ll tell you something, and I’ve told you this over the last 10 weeks. I don’t know that you quite yet have bought it. Your story is so inspiring. Your story, not just with your struggles but also your joy, is absolutely going to move people. You are doing good. You are putting good energy into this world, my friend.

Soren: Thank you. It’s very reassuring. Not sure if I’ve bought it, but you will.

Chris: You will. It’s coming. You’re a work in progress too, just like I am. So we want to welcome you to the Inspired Insights podcast. Buckle up, have fun, it’s okay to laugh at us and with us. We have laughed a lot these last 10 weeks, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Soren: Enjoy your ride through our minds, and hopefully you can take a seat on the roller coaster that was this podcast. Thanks for joining.

Chris: Enjoy.

Soren: Thank you so much. Bye.

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Inspired Insights Podcast brought to you by Inspired Consulting Group, LLC. Edited and produced by Amanda Sidell. Music by Derek Hurder. Copyright 2024. All rights reserved.